The Best Care Anywhere
by Kitsune Moonstar
Summary: AU. When Riza gets injured, her team takes her to the local army hospital.
1. Doctor and Patient

I do not own FMA, MASH, or their characters. This is AU and set during the Korean War. This story was previously posted in An Apple A Day.

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**Doctor and Patient**

"I'm telling you, Beej, the North Koreans don't need to keep shelling us," Hawkeye Pierce laughed. "They just need to keep paying our cooks."

"Excuse me, sir? Are you Dr. Pierce?"

The soldier was tall and blond with a cigarette dangling from his lips. Hawkeye didn't recognize the man's uniform though.

"That's me unless you're with the IRS. Then I'm afraid I'll have to direct you to the physician currently residing in the swamp."

"My commanding officer needs to speak with you, sir. It's urgent."

"Do I come to him or does he come to me?" Hawkeye had the feeling there was more to this than a simple conversation.

"This way, sir."

B.J. shrugged, and the two surgeons followed the man to a jeep parked near the OR. Two dark haired men were with it, one in the driver's seat and the other in the back with a stretcher. The driver spotted them first.

"Roy."

The other man looked up. "Dr. Pierce?"

"That would be me."

"Roy Mustang. I need you to operate on Hawkeye. We did a patch up job in the field, but I think we missed some internal bleeding."

Pierce blinked at the reference to his nickname, but his attention was quickly drawn to the blond head resting in Roy Mustang's lap. The man's face was turned into Mustang's stomach, but it was clear he was in quite a bit of pain.

"Beej, give me a hand, would you?"

The two doctors easily found the injury in the man's side. Hawkeye frowned as he examined the stitches. B.J. checked the man's pulse.

"I think he's right, Hawk. The pulse is clearly depressed."

"Let's get him into the OR." Hawkeye frowned and addressed Mustang. "You could have just pulled up to the OR and not waste time. What's with the secrecy?"

Mustang traded looks with the other man. "We had heard horror stories about one of your surgeons, and there are reasons we like to keep Hawkeye as anonymous as possible. Lieutenant Hawkeye's a her, not a him."

The man shifted and suddenly a pair of amber eyes slitted in pain met his. The lieutenant's face clearly had a feminine cast to it, but he could see how she passed for a man.

"Beej, grab Margaret. The three of us should be able to manage without anyone else." He met Mustang's eyes. "Can you carry her?"

Mustang nodded. "Just lead the way. Maes, I'll see you and Havoc later."

It didn't take them long to get the patient into the OR. With Mustang's help, Hawkeye managed to get his patient undressed and prepped for surgery. B.J. and Margaret finished scrubbing in just as they had her all ready. Hawkeye nodded.

"We'll take it from here. I promise we'll take good care of her."

Mustang bent down to kiss her forehead before turning to leave.

Hawkeye looked down at his patient. Things could get confusing with their shared name. "Hey, Mustang, what's her first name?"

"Riza."

Hawkeye turned back to his patient. "All right, Beej, put her under. Margaret, scalpel."

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Theme: Doctor's In


	2. Rest and Recovery

I do not own FMA, MASH, or their characters. This is AU and set during the Korean War.

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**Rest and Recovery**

Hawkeye let out a sigh as he sewed the last stitches. It hadn't been a difficult surgery, but it had taken longer than he'd expected. Whoever had originally patched up the lieutenant to start with had done a good job. There had been some minor internal bleeding, but it had been easily taken care of, just time consuming. It was a good thing that he had never liked this shirt though. He doubted the blood stains would come out of the ugly Hawaiian print.

"I think we're done here, Beej, Margaret. Let's get her to post-op."

Margaret nodded. "I'll stay with her."

"Good. I need to let her CO know how things went."

He found the man slumped against the wall outside the OR. He struggled to his feet as Hawkeye approached.

"Your lieutenant is fine," Hawkeye held up a hand to forestall any questions. "Whoever patched her up the first time did a good job. There was some minor internal bleeding, but that's been taken care of. She'll need a couple of months to fully recover though."

Mustang let out a sigh. "Can I see her?"

"She won't be awake for a few more hours. Margaret's going to stay with her until then." Hawkeye smiled. "Besides, I'm sure she would prefer not to have her commanding officer looking like he needs to be in a hospital bed as well. You look like you could use a good meal and some rest. We can offer the second if not the first. There's even a shower."

He got a halfhearted smile and a sigh.

"Let me find my guys first. They'll want to know how Hawkeye is."

"They've probably found the mess tent."

As the two men crossed the compound, Hawkeye found himself asking the question that been bothering him from the start.

"So how did you end up with a woman in your outfit? Not that I mind, but it seems unfair to the rest of the guys."

Mustang shrugged. "Our country has always allowed women in the military. Not many actually choose to serve, but they are allowed to."

"Where are you from?"

"Amestris." The man grinned at his blank look. "You've never heard of us, I know. We're a little landlocked country in Europe."

They slipped inside the mess tent. The two men who had accompanied Mustang were dubiously poking at the food on their trays.

"It doesn't get any better if you keep poking it. We're pretty sure it's dead, but you never know."

Both men looked up. The blond who had originally fetched him spoke. "How's Hawkeye, sir?"

Mustang smiled. "Hawkeye will be fine according to Dr. Pierce here. In fact, with any luck, Hawkeye's injury will get us all sent home to recuperate since everyone knows we're useless with our lieutenant."

The other dark haired man grinned. "Perfect! Just in time for my Elysia's birthday. Isn't she cute?"

A picture of an adorable toddler was thrust in his face. Mustang just sighed.

"Hughes, do you have to shove pictures of your daughter in everyone's face? We know she's cute. We believe you given you repeated at least twenty times a day."

"But the world must know of the extreme cuteness of Elysia!"

"Ignore him. He's crazy." The other man offered his hand. "Jean Havoc. Thanks for taking care of Hawkeye for us."

"No problem." Hawkeye slid onto the bench next to the man. "What happened to you all anyway?"

"Bad intelligence." Hughes had tucked away his daughter's photo. "We walked right into an ambush. Hawkeye caught it before the rest of us. We probably wouldn't have all made it out if she hadn't spotted their sniper."

"It wouldn't be the first time Hawkeye saved us," Mustang sighed. "The sniper was aiming for me."

"And we all know you would have done the same thing for Hawkeye if you had spotted a threat to her." Hughes sighed. "Hawkeye hates it when you blame yourself for things you can't change. If she were here, she'd probably threaten to shoot you. We all know she can take care of herself."

"I know, Maes." It was Mustang's turn to sigh. "But it's Hawkeye."

Satisfied that Mustang was in good hands and wasn't going to fret himself into the OR, Hawkeye left the trio to eat and sought his own bed. With the way things were going so far, he was going to need all the sleep he could get.

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Theme: An Ugly Shirt


	3. In Good Company

I do not own FMA, MASH, or their characters. This is AU and set during the Korean War.

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**In Good Company**

Roy woke with a start, nearly nailing the man bent over him in the eye. It took him a moment to realize that he was at the 4077 MASH unit instead of out in the field. He blinked wearily up at Dr. Pierce before his brain kicked in, and he shot up.

"Is Hawkeye all right? Has something happened?"

"Whoa! Easy there. You lieutenant is fine." Pierce held up his hands. "Actually, she's due to be waking up soon, and I thought you might want to be there when she does."

"I would. Thank you, doctor. Sorry about the reaction."

Pierce smiled. "Not a problem."

Roy threw on his jacket, and the two men made their way across the camp to the post-op ward. The doctors had been kind enough to offer Roy and his men the company guest quarters for the night. Roy hadn't really slept much despite his exhaustion. He was too worried about Hawkeye. Dr. Pierce had assured him that she was fine, but he wouldn't really believe it until Hawkeye told him to stop fussing over her.

A blond nurse was seated next to Hawkeye's bed. She looked up as they approached, frowning slight at Pierce.

"I've kept Frank away from the Lieutenant, Hawkeye, but it hasn't been easy. He's going to want answers about the mysterious patient."

"I'll take care of it, Margaret." Pierce sighed. "This is Colonel Mustang, the lieutenant's CO. Colonel, this is our head nurse Major Margaret Houlihan."

She smiled at him. "It's good of you to take such a personal interest in your officer's welfare, Colonel."

"Roy, please. Hawkeye saved my life. Making sure she's taken care is the least I can do. Besides," he reached down to brush Riza's bangs from her face, "I promised her father I'd look after her. Even if she did try to beat me up for it later when she found out. Do you know when she'll wake up?"

"The anesthesia should be wearing off any minute now." Houlihan was all business now, rising from her chair. "Would you like to have a seat?"

"Thank you." Roy took one of Riza's pale hands in his own and waited.

She looked fairly good for someone who had just been through surgery, and he could feel the strong beat of her pulse under his fingers. Riza's eyes fluttered open, and Roy found himself holding his breath. Familiar mahogany eyes met his, and this time they were pain free.

"Sir?"

He smiled, squeezing her hand. "Welcome back. Do you remember what happened?"

She frowned. "There was a sniper. I got hit. We were heading for one of the American medical camps."

Pierce smiled at her, seating himself at the foot of the bed. "You made it. Welcome to the 4077. I'm not sure you remember me, but we have met before. The bullet nicked one of your veins. We got you all patched up, but you're going to have to take easy for the next few months. How are you feeling?"

"Tired. A little fuzzy and sore." She met Roy's eyes. "Are you all right, sir?"

"I fine, Hawkeye."

"That's normal after surgery." Pierce reached for file at the foot of her bed. "According to this, you're doing just fine. As long as your vitals stay strong, I'll release you tomorrow. It'll be a few months before you'll be up to combat duty though."

"Thank you, Doctor…"

"Pierce." He grinned. "Call me Hawkeye."

She smiled back, and Roy finally felt the knot in his chest begin to loosen. His Hawkeye was going to be just fine. Pierce checked her vitals and gave her the specifics on her condition before rising to his feet.

"Oh, and just in case, if a loud, obnoxious man claiming to be a doctor shows up, pretend to be asleep. It's probably safer than letting him attempt to help you."

Riza laughed, the sound of it warming his heart. Roy smiled at the other man.

"Would you let Havoc and Hughes know how Hawkeye's doing? They'll probably want to see her themselves."

"Can do."

Roy figured he had at most ten minutes before Havoc and Hughes showed up to check on Hawkeye themselves. He waited until Pierce was gone and the nurse was busy.

"You promise you'll never do something like that again?"

She reached up to touch his face. "I scared you."

He covered her hand with his own. "I nearly got you killed."

Riza frowned. "You heard the doctor. I'll be fine. It was my choice to put myself between you and the bullet. I'd do it again if I needed to."

"But what would I do if I lost you?" He kissed her palm. "I haven't survived two wars just to loose my reason for surviving."

She smiled. "Why do you think I did what I did?"

Before he could pursue that line of discussion, they were set upon by well meaning comrades bearing playing cards and good wishes. Roy sighed but let Havoc and Hughes pull up chairs and start a poker game. It was good to see Riza smiling and laughing at their antics anyway. Besides, he would have plenty of time to investigate just what that last comment of hers meant on their way home.

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Theme: Smiling Face


	4. So Long Farewell

I do not own FMA, MASH, or their characters. This is AU and set during the Korean War.

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**So Long Farewell**

Riza bit back giggles as Doctors Pierce and Hunnicutt did their last post op exam. Those two seemed to go out of their way to entertain her when they stopped by to check on her. The best time was when the other surgeon had come in making a fuss over some trivial matter. Pierce and Hunnicutt had alternately baited the man while the other mocked him behind his back.

However, as much as she liked her doctors, Riza was ready to get out of the ward. She was used to being the only woman in an all male outfit, but what she couldn't stand was sitting idle while her guys were still out there. Despite knowing that currently her guys weren't out on the front line, Riza felt that she should be there to keep them out of trouble.

"I think you're all set." Dr. Pierce grinned at her. "One of the nurses will be by shortly with a uniform for you to change into and to help you get out of here. Your guys are taking you to the 121st Evacuation Hospital for a few days, and then you should be on your way home."

"Thank you for your care, Doctors. It has been much appreciated." She smiled at them. "I've had a pleasant stay here."

Hunnicutt laughed. "Of course you did, complete with intermittent shelling and an insane staff."

"The complete frontline hospital experience." Pierce grinned.

"Out," ordered the nurse behind them. "I'm sure the lieutenant would like to get dressed in private."

Margaret Houlihan smiled at her. The woman had been a great deal of help during Riza's stay in the post-op ward. It had been nice to have another woman around. Her boys were wonderful but unfortunately oblivious to some of the things that were an inconvenience to a woman. Margaret and her nurses had been quite friendly towards her, and Riza would admit that she had missed being around other women on a regular basis.

"Let's get you ready to go."

Margaret helped her get dressed. The stitches in her side pulled a little, but it wasn't too bad. It felt good to be up and on her feet again and wonderful to be out of the hospital pajamas. Being back in uniform felt good. She would need to get her hair trimmed, but other than that, she was feeling pretty good. Of course, that could be the pain killers talking.

"Thank you for all your help, Major Houlihan."

"No problem, and it's Margaret, remember?"

Her guys were waiting for her outside. Both Havoc and Hughes were grinning, leaning against the jeep. Roy simply smiled, holding out a hand to her. He helped her into the front seat and squeezed her hand. Riza was reminded of their conversation shortly after she had woken up after surgery. They hadn't discussed it since, but Riza had a feeling that the subject would come up again. Not that she minded. It was something that they had been dancing around for far too long.

Her doctors were also waiting. Pierce had an arm wrapped around Margaret's shoulders while Hunnicutt was leaning against the jeep. They all were grinning.

"Take care, folks." Pierce grinned. "You just follow that road through the landmines, and you're on your way."

"Thank you for your help, Doctors." Roy squeezed her hand again. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help."

"Not a problem. We're just doing our job." Hunnicutt smiled. "Safe journey."

Roy climbed into the driver's seat. "Thank you. You all stay safe."

Riza and the others joined in the goodbyes. Roy started the jeep, and she turned in her seat to wave goodbye as the pulled out of the camp.

"So, let's go home."

Riza nodded and turned to face forward as the medical unit faded into the distance.

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Theme: Hospital


End file.
